Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 19 chaired a meeting between the Cabinet’s standing members and ministry and sector officials on the lists of prohibited and conditional businesses, and those entitled to investment preferential treatments.

These lists were developed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in preparation for the draft laws on Investment and Enterprise, which will be tabled to the National Assembly’s upcoming session.

The MPI proposed eight businesses banned from investment and business, instead of the current figure of 51. It suggested taking off 56 of the current 386 conditional businesses.

The Cabinet leaders and ministry officials agreed with the MPI’s proposals, however, suggesting it to continue screening the lists to ensure they are feasible in practice while safeguarding people’s right to do business and invest and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of State management.

They also raised the need for the lists to contain some degree of flexibility as well as forecast in order to deal with problems arising from the real situation.

In concluding the meeting, PM Dung underlined that in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution and its regulations on the people’s right to do business, a restriction to the people’s right must be specified by law.

He noted the requirement is extremely important to the implementation of the principle that enterprises and people have the right to do business and invest in the fields not prohibited by law.

He requested the MPI gather all opinions at the meeting to serve its perfection of these lists towards the prime goals of ensuring the people’s right to do business, developing the market-driven economy, facilitating international integration, improving the investment and business environment, and enhancing the national competitiveness.

The perfection work should aim to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of State management, reform administrative procedures, and combat negative phenomena and corruption, he said.

“State management aims at creating maximal favourable conditions for people and enterprises in investment and doing business,” Dung said.

Regarding the list of business sectors, industries and localities entitled to investment preferential treatment as prescribed by the draft laws on Investment and Enteprise, PM Dung agreed that such preferential treatment will not given to the mining of natural resources and minerals and about 40 other sectors, industries, products and services that are subject to special consumption tax.

The treatment will be regulated by the Government, he said.-VNA